Prime Minister Imran Khan warned the nation about the steaming fourth wave of coronavirus in Pakistan that could hit if flouting of covid-19 restrictions continues.
The premier alerted the citizens to continue following SOPs as the swelling Delta variant, which is believed to have originated in India, is the deadliest.
“I know people have become tired of following SOPs but mask-wearing is the easiest way through which we can avoid the fourth wave of coronavirus”, the premier added.
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The number of coronavirus positive cases started to grow during the past week and the positivity rate that stood at less than 2% in June has now crossed 3% in the last 20 days.
As per data of National Command and Operation Center (NCOC), nearly 3,420 cases were reported in the past 48 hours and the positivity rate sustained at 3.65% with death toll reaching 49.
Before the warning by the prime minister, Federal Minister for Planning Asad Umar also said there were clear early signs of the covid-19 fourth wave.
2 weeks back I had tweeted that our artifical intelligence models are showing possible emergence of 4th wave. Now there are clear early signs of 4th wave starting. Poor sop compliance, coupled with spread of variants of concern, indian variant in particular, are the main cause.
— Asad Umar (@Asad_Umar) July 9, 2021
He maintained that the Delta variant sprung up in the country due to poor compliance of SOPs.
The warnings came in after the country showed more than 3% positivity rate for the past consecutive three days.
Meanwhile, Sindh health officials said Karachi’s covid-19 infection rate hit 10.71% during last 24 hours.
As per details, around 3,888 positive cases were reported in the metropolitan in the first week of July and nearly 80 patients have succumbed to the deadly virus during the same period.